Knockdown article of furniture.



No. 894,033. PATENTED JULY 21, 1908.

a P. MORRISON.

KNOCKDOWN ARTICLE OF FURNITURE.

APPLICATION lILED IAB. 28, 190B.

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PATENTED JULY 21-, 1908.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28, 1908.

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\ Zhiram Worrzlsan ILIIIII/I/J III] PUTNAM MORRISON, OF OHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE.

KNOGKDOWN ARTICLE OF FURNITURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 21, 1908.

Application filed March 28, 1908. Serial No. 423,918.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PUTNAM MORRISON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chattanooga, in the county of Hamilton and State of Tennessee; have invented new and useful Improvements in Knockdown Articles of Furniture, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to knock down articles of furniture and the like, such as kitchen safes, wardrobes, bookcases and other analogous structures, and the objects of the same are to utilize to the full limit the strength of wood or other material and permit the use of thinner lumber or material than has heretofore been practical; to so arrange the different members that they will shrink or swell without damage or injury to themselves or to the article as a whole; to be so held at their ends that the several members of which the device is composed cannot warp after placement thereof, or if warped when put in place will be straightened by the act of assembling them in their proper positions; and to produce a knock down article of'a strong, neat and light structure and wherein the parts may be more readily assembled than in devices heretofore constructed, and easily handled, the several parts being replaceable at a nominal cost if injured, destroyed, or lost, without requiring a disuse of the remaining parts which may still be in condition for practical service.

In the accompanying drawings and as an illustration of embodiment of the features of the invention a knock down kitchen safe is shown, but it will be understood that the same principles may be embodied in other analogous devices.

The principle involved in the present construction is that if a thin piece of wood or other material is held closely on its four sides by cooperating members or elements and the latter then drawn equally together, the piece of wood or other material cannot warp in view of the fact that all the edges of the confined piece of wood or other material are fully engaged and have an equal pressure imposed thereon.

The construction that has been selected for illustration of the invention will be more fully hereinafter specified.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a safe broken away in parts and shown in section and illustrating the features tical section of the same. zontal section of the safe taken in a plane above one of the shelves. Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section of a portion of the same, particularly showing the manner of assembling the parts or members.

Similar characters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

The numeral 1 designates a front frame having suitable openings for a drawer 2 and doors 3, these openings and the drawer and doors being arranged to suit the taste and convenience of the maker. The particular arrangement of this front frame is not essential and it may be varied at will. The front frame includes corner posts 4 which extend the full height of the safe and are projected below the bottom of the latter to provide front legs 5. Cooperating with the front frame 1 is a back 6 consisting of a frame of the same dimensions as the front frame and -filled with panels 7 and munnions 8 as may be desired and also including corner posts 9 similar to the posts 4 and projected at their lower extremities below the bottom of the safe to form rear legs 10. The panels 7 in the back frame, in the doors 3, and the cross strips 11, 12 and 13 in the front frame 1 are preferably united to the posts 4 and 9 and the cooperating parts by means of grooves into which the said panels are fitted and as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. The front posts 4 of the frame 1 and the rear posts 9 of the back frame 6 have grooves 14 formed in their inner faces, as clearly shown by Fig. 3, the said grooves being so arranged that they are directly opposite each other and parallel. These grooves run lengthwise of the posts and will be oocupied by parts or members presently specified. The posts 4 and 9 are also transversely bored as at 15, the several bores 15 being in alinement in the pairs of posts to removably receive rods 16 arranged at intervals and serving to tie or secure the parts of the knock down safe or other device in firm assembled relation.

At regular intervals throughout the vertical extent of the safe, or at different distances apart, as may be desired, shelves 17 are disposed and rendered accessible through the medium of the doors 3, and between the shelves are a corresponding number of end panels 18 which will have a vertical extent of the invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse ver- 1 varying in accordance with the distance be- Fig. 3 is a horitween the shelves 17 and between the uppermost shelf and the top of the safe, which in the present instance consists of a cap or top closure 19 of any preferred construction,.but overhanging the upper ends of the adjacent end panels. The panels 18 engage the grooves 14 in the inner faces of the posts 4 and 9, and practice has demonstrated that the length of these end panels 18 must be equal to the width of the shelves plus the depth of the grooves 14 in the front and rear posts 4 and 9. The shelves 17 extend beyond the plane of the outer sides of the end panels at each end of the device the distance that the grooves 14 in the posts 4 and 9 are from the outside edges of the said posts or of the front and back planes. This arrangement is preferred, though it is immaterial how far the shelves extend beyond the outer face of the end panels in so far as they serve as a supporting means to engage the panels; but these shelves must extend at least far enough outwardly that in the event that any one of them starts to spring upward it will strike the panel next above it and thus be held down in place and against warpage. In other words, the shelves and end panels contribute to prevent warping of the one with respect to the other and in performing this function the whole series of shelves and end panels are united and thus increase the resisting force to irregular position of the parts due to shrinkage or warpage.

When the correct number of shelves and panels has been placed in position or assembled in cooperative relation and the rods 16 inserted through the posts, with the lowermost rods serving as a rest for the lower shelf 17 at each end, the operation of tightening up and firmly clamping the end panels and shelves in place is pursued. As just noted, the two rods 16 have the lower shelf directly bearing thereon and are tightened sufficiently to hold the front and rear frames in assembled relation While the remaining panels and shelves are put in position. The panels 18 next above the lowermost shelf are next forced downwardly through the grooves 14 to bring their lower edges in contact with the upper surface of the said lowermost shelf. The intermediate shelf 17 is then placed in position and other end panels similarly forced downwardly thereon, and the top or next shelf above is then placed in position and likewise engaged by panels 18 forced downwardly through the grooves 14, and so on until all the shelves and panels are assembled. After all the shelves and panels have been placed in cooperative position as just explained, a pressure in a downward direction is exerted on the uppermost panels to insure a tight fit between the engaging edges of the panels and the projecting extremities of the shelves and the remaining tie rods 16 are then tightened up, the uppermost tie rods being the last to have a securing tension exerted thereon. If the shelves and panels have been snugly assembled and a forceful downward pressure is exerted thereon prior to tightening the rods 16 above the lowermost pair of rods of a similar nature, there will be no cracks or crevices and the engaging tension exerted by the panels on the shelves will be strong enough or have suflicient force to resist the least tendency to warpage of the shelves or displacement of the engaging edges of the panels. Furthermore, the grain of the end panels should run transversely with respect to the safe or other article or from one set of grooves 14 towards the other, and as the ends of the panels 18 are retained in the grooves 14 and reliably and firmly bound in this position by the tie rods 16, it will be impossiblefor the said panels to spring or warp and any reduction due to shrinkage will be taken up. In view of the disposition of the grain of the end panels 18 as specified it will be observed that the greatest resisting pressure imposed thereon by the particular assemblage specified in connection with the shelves will be in the direction of the greatest resistance of the grain thereof or transversely with relation to the grain. This particular grain arrangement is essential, especially in manufacturing a cheap article of the knock down type.

If at any time either of the panels or shelves become injured or any other part of the safe or knock down article becomes lost or destroyed it may be readily replaced by a similar part without affecting the remaining organization. The rods 16 will have their nutted ends 19 exteriorly exposed at the rear of the safe or other device for convenience in tightening up the said rods and replacing any of the parts that may become unfit forfurther service, due to wear or injury.

It will be observed that the only devices employed for securing the front and back frames and shelves and end panels in assembled relation are the rods 16, and by this means the knock down safe or other device embodying the principles of the invention may be shipped or stored in knock down condition and assembled when desired with convenience and facility without requiring the services of a skilled mechanic.

It will be observed from the foregoing that the side edges of the panels are held in engagement with the ends of the shelves solely by pressure and no fastening devices are used between the said parts, the transverse rods serving as the means for maintaining the shelves and panels in close associated relation. The lowermost rods against which the bottom shelf has bearing and extending transversely under the said shelf as explained serve as lower resistance means, and the cross rods between the lowermost and uppermost rods and which are tightened up sequentially towards the uppermost rods, and as the panels and shelves are successively disposed in operative position, hold the said panels or shelves which they control in immovable relation and render it unnecessary to employ fastening devices. The uppermost tie rods which are the last to be tightened serve as a final sealing or securing means and cooperate directly with the uppermost panels to maintain all of the panels and shelves below in a tight associated condition to prevent warpage 0r displacement of either the shelves or panels.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new, is:

1. A knock down article of furniture comprising front and back frames with inner opposing grooves at opposite extremities, a plurality of shelves, panels interposed between the shelves and engaging the grooves, the side edges of the panels being held in associated relation to the shelves solely by pressure, and transversely extending connecting devices engaging the opposite extremities of the front and back frames and serving to draw the several parts in firm assembled relation, the shelves projecting outwardly beyond the panels and having the edges of the latter successively pressed tightly into engagement therewith.

2. A knock down article of furniture cornprising front and back members, shelves, end panels and transversely extending tie devices, the edges of the panels and opposite extremities of the shelves being held in tight engaging relation solely by pressure and pre vented from moving by the tie devices so that one is prevented from warping by the other, the lowermost shelf bearing at opposite extremities on two of the tie devices.

3. A knock down article of furniture comprising front and back members, shelves, end panels and transversely extending tie devices, the edges of the panels and opposite extremities of the shelves being held in tight engaging relation solely by pressure established between the shelves and panels by the tie devices so that one is prevented from warping by the other, the lowermost shelf acting as a pressure resistance means for the panels and remaining. shelves above the same; 7

4. A knock down article of furniture comprising front and back frame members, shelves, end panels and transversely extending tie devices, the panels having their oppo-i site ends embraced by the front and back frame members and their side edges firmly pressed against the shelves and maintained in close contact solely by the pressure exerted downwardly thereagainst by the similar parts above, the shelves having their opposite extremities projecting outward beyond the outer sides of the panels, the lowermost shelf bearing at its opposite extremities on two of the tie devices.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PUTN AM MORRISON.

Witnesses:

R. GLENN YOUNG, R. W. SHEPHERD. 

